COLLEGE STATION - "Casual" is doable for a Friday wardrobe or elevator conversation on the way up, but that description grated on Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy after he watched his team go down yet again - at the worst time for doing so.

"Too casual," an irate Kennedy offered Saturday of his post players' energy level and effort during a 69-64 loss to Auburn in the regular-season finale in Reed Arena.

Based on injury and perhaps an overall troubling casualness from a handful of players, the Aggies are down to eight men on scholarship and played only seven Saturday in yet another disappointing setback in a season loaded with them.

"There's no excuse for it," guard Alex Caruso said of the Aggies blowing a seven-point second-half lead, and then getting outscored 10-4 in the final four minutes. "We got outrebounded in our house, gave up countless layups. … We didn't play like the team we are."

Offense stagnant

Critics will argue the Aggies played exactly as the team they have become - one prone to fizzling late while either grasping a lead or trying to trade punches with an opponent.

A&M (17-14, 8-10 SEC) lost two conference road games in overtime after blowing double-digit leads, and the Aggies were coming off a 57-56 loss at Missouri on Wednesday after squandering a double-digit second-half lead.

This time?

A&M likely cost itself a shot of at least making the National Invitation Tournament with one final regular-season lackluster effort with the contest on the line.

"Our offense was stagnant the entire game," A&M guard Jordan Green said. "We couldn't get anything going. We didn't come out with enough energy, and we weren't focused enough, so that's on us."

Auburn (14-15, 6-12) snapped a two-game losing streak and won on the road for the first time in more than a month. The staggered Aggies, seeded ninth in the SEC tournament that starts Wednesday in Atlanta, own a final chance to salvage a rough season when they take on eighth-seeded Missouri at noon Thursday.

One positive for A&M was the return of senior Fabyon Harris to the lineup. A week prior, he fainted during a team shootaround and spent the next two days in the hospital. Freshman guard Shawn Smith remains absent from the program with what Kennedy has dubbed "personal issues."

Must step up

Now, his program apparently has "post issues" as well, and a mad Kennedy offered his big men a little motivation via the media, with the season perhaps down to a final game.

"Our post players just got whipped, and they wouldn't step up and make plays defensively," Kennedy said of their effort against the Tigers. "We need one big guy to step up, to knock (someone) to the ground, block a shot, take a charge … we haven't been able to get that in the games we've lost."